Senior Splashin’, also known as Senior Assassin, is a game in which students eliminate each other using water guns and has been a popular trend since 2010. Originating from tag-style elimination games in the 1970s, Senior Assassin has taken on many names such as Senior Splashin’, Senior Water Wars, Senior Tag and many more. 

At the end of March, the class of 2026 participated in Senior Splashin’ using a single floatie and a water gun. Senior Splashin’ students see this activity as a bonding activity

“I think it was maybe just some playful bonding,” senior dean and science teacher Laura Housman said. “Some of the seniors were pretty sneaky and tricky with their strategies.”

From Monday to Thursday of that week, seniors were allowed to wear their floatie on as an act of immunity. However, on Friday, they could not use their floaties; the day was considered a “free for all,” according to the guidelines. 

Monday, the start of the week, students picked up their floatie and water gun. Rules were established, shooting during assembly, classes and dance/band rooms. Players were not allowed to camp outside their targets jobs, nor were they allowed to shoot their water guns in the face. To be considered ‘safe,’ players must have their floaties on their upper arm. Any eliminations had to be filmed on camera, capturing the scene.  

The start of the game had been delayed due to students having trouble getting onto the app. Shortly after, break was not the only thing that began. While other grades were going about their break, seniors were checking their Splashin’ app for their target and shortly after, began to prepare themselves. Though it was the first day of the game, senior Winnie Crawford was the first to be eliminated. 

As the week progressed, seniors had been untrusting of others. However, senior Bailey Leong said she lowered her guard and was eliminated by senior Tyler Beissel. 

“I got out on Wednesday after Advisory,” Leong said, “I was wearing a floatie with the same color as senior Angelle, and she wanted to borrow it. There was only one other person who had the same color floatie, and they didn’t want to take it off–I didn’t either because I thought I was senior Elora’s target, but she told me she wasn’t, so I took it off.” 

Shortly after, Beissel ran up to her and shot Leong. 

When asking Leong for advice, she said, “Stay on your guard all the time, and don’t be quick to trust people during these types of games.”

On Friday, all seniors were prohibited from keeping their floaties on. During the morning, some consistently kept themselves as hidden as they could, others ran as fast as they could, and for other seniors, they went all in. 

“Throughout the week, I was just chilling, to be honest,” said Angela Dizon, a senior and one of the last students to get eliminated. “I felt really bad though because I got my fav(orite), senior Lesieli as my target. On Friday, I was just excited to finish the game.” 

When questioned how she made it to the final two, she said, “I survived the week by just wearing my floatie all the time. I wore it every single time I left the house. Also, it was kinda easy for me to last the whole week because the person who had me was always at dance rehearsals during breaks, so I didn’t have to worry much about it at school.” 

When going face-to-face with senior Elora Speltz, Dizon said Speltz would occasionally joke around and ask her to take her floatie off.

“This activity helped me bond with my division because it made me talk to people that I usually don’t talk to. It was really funny seeing people run around campus and trying to dodge getting shot.”

“(But also) remember that at the end of the day, it’s still just a game, and losing isn’t the end of the world,” Leong said.